Durex a sponsor for League of Legends in China, esports fans are amused
The new sponsor promises 'protection' for fans in multiple League of Legends esports events.
League of Legends developer Riot Games has announced a new partnership for the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), and it’s causing quite a stir among the players in the community.
Durex, the condom brand, has signed multiple partnerships with Riot as a sponsor for League of Legends Pro League (LPL), the Mandarin broadcast for MSI, and the League of Legends World Championship (Worlds).
According to a post by the official LoL Weibo account, Durex will be featured in upcoming broadcasts of the LPL's regular season, the upcoming Mandarin broadcast of the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), and the LoL World Championship (Worlds).
“To protect every love, from now on, Durex has officially reached an official partnership with many League of Legends events,” a Google translation of the post said.
“Durex is looking forward to protecting the LPL, MSI and Worlds together.”
The announcement was also posted on Twitter through the @LPLfanclub Twitter account.
On a short note: Durex is now sponsoring #LPL pic.twitter.com/9A0x1a4mKi
— LPL Fanclub (@LPLfanclub) April 28, 2023
This partnership with LoL esports may be the condom company's most significant entry yet into the competitive gaming and esports industries.
In the past, Durex has capitalised on the popularity of video games inside their advertising, namely the multiplayer game Among Us and the PlayStation 5's release.
It was also said that the condom company had sponsored Rocket League competitions and was a sponsor in the Naraka Bladepoint World Championship in 2022.
Durex is also an addition to LoL Esports' many noteworthy partnerships, especially in the LPL.
Some of these sponsors include Intel, Red Bull, smartphone brand OnePlus, and automotive company Mercedes Benz, to name a few.
LoL fans react to the announcement
Naturally, many LoL fans found the partnership funny, with many from the community cracking up jokes about the deal after the announcement.
On Weibo, many responded with laughter, with user @目艮釒竟木匡 commenting, “Full-field protection.”
Another user, 尹天CLANG, said that it was a “match made in heaven”.
On Twitter, the reaction was similar, but for a different reason. One of the most popular comments to the announcement was by Twitter user @Lars_Hvit, where he coined the caption, “Make your games last longer.”
Make your games last longer
— LAG | Lars Hvit | Lhautlow (@Lars_Hvit) April 28, 2023
On the other hand, others laughed because it goes against gamer stereotypes. @TheRam0107said in response to LPL Fan Club’s tweet, “They [really] think League players leave the room.”
“Seems a bit redundant; League of Legends is enough of a contraception,” joked another Twitter user
@thebenjameister, with others chiming in that Durex is just the “second best form of birth control”.
Some poked fun at the Durex Marketing team because “We all know League players don’t have sex,” like Twitter user @Kemal0901.
The LPL Fan Club’s tweet garnered more than 1 million views and over 4,000 thousand likes, and a ton of comments, mostly poking fun at the LoL demographic.
The LoL Mid-Season Invitational will take place from May 2-21 at the Copper Box Arena in London. The tournament will feature 13 teams from different LoL competitive leagues.
Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.
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